A Gateway Closed

Fear Of Starting Over

November 02, 2003|By NOVELDA SOMMERS Daily Press

Less than a decade ago, the dawn of a "Silicon Dominion" seemed near. State and local officials began to dream big when Gateway said it planned to build a new computer manufacturing plant in Hampton. The company emerged as Hampton's biggest employer with 2,500 well-paying jobs by 1999.

That all changed with the bursting of the tech bubble. After several rounds of layoffs, Gateway closed its Hampton plant this fall, saying it needed to cut costs. Gone were jobs for the plant's remaining 450 workers.

Some of those workers will train for different careers. Others will accept lower paying jobs. Many will compete for the region's dwindling manufacturing work. Over the coming months, the Daily Press will profile a few of the displaced Gateway workers as they look to rebuild their working lives. We start with Debbie K. Smith, a single mom who is anxious about having no health insurance, and Ron Whitson, a 58-year-old, six-year veteran of the defunct plant, whose hopes for early retirement vaporized.